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Why Delhi International Open chess champion Abhijeet Gupta opts for title wins over ELO points

He sums up his philosophy: ’Winning that one tournament means more to me than finishing second in five’.

At 35, Gupta finds himself at a career crossroads where he is past his peak yet still competitive. (Special Arrangement)

Abhijeet Gupta’s career statistics might not show the peak ratings of legends like Viswanathan Anand or current stars like Arjun Erigaisi and D. Gukesh, but his trophy collection speaks volumes. With five Commonwealth gold medals, a World Junior Championship title, national championships at both senior and junior levels (becoming the youngest-ever junior national champion at the time), an Olympiad individual board silver, title wins at Reykjavik Open, Parsvnath Open, Dubai Open, Georgy Agzamov Memorial, and now four Delhi Open crowns, Gupta’s accolades form an impressive legacy.

This has to do a lot with his willingness “to risk it all for the bigger gains,” an approach which comes with its own price as this philosophy has cost Gupta a few titles right at the finishing line.

But he is happy with his choices. “I don’t mind losing those final rounds a few times to win once,” Gupta tells The Indian Express. “Winning that one tournament means more to me than finishing second in five. Coming fifth in five tournaments does not excite me,” he says.

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However, at the final round of the 21st Delhi International Open at Tivoli Gardens in Chhatarpur on Saturday, ironically, it was his uncharacteristic caution that did the job. Possibly influenced by losing 70 Elo points in recent weeks, he adopted a more conservative approach against IM Aronyak Ghosh. With second-placed GM Aditya Samant breathing down his neck, Gupta faced a vital choice: play safe with a draw or risk his podium finish by pushing for victory.

Opting for pragmatism over risk, Gupta secured a quick draw through three-fold repetition in just five minutes against Ghosh. His 8.5-point finish meant Samant needed to win against top seed SL Narayanan in his last-round clash to force tiebreaks. This possibility, however, disappeared when Samant managed only a draw from almost a losing position. The Rajasthan GM’s conventional approach paid dividends, netting him the Rs. 7 lakh top prize (substantial by Open events standards) and another cherished title.

“Having high ratings is useful as you get invitations to tournaments but winning tournaments are more important,” says Gupta after the win. “Tomorrow you might not remember my peak rating was 2667 or how many times I breached 2700 but you’ll remember I won these many Commonwealths, I won World Juniors, Delhi Open…” he adds.

At 35, Gupta finds himself at a career crossroads where he is past his peak yet still competitive. His recent Delhi Open title brought relief after a gruelling stretch that began with April’s Reykjavik Open, during which he lost nearly 70 Elo points. While his peak rating of 2667 (achieved in 2012) remains distant, with his current live rating hovering in the mid-2500s, these numbers mean a little to him.

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“My upbringing was such that neither I nor anyone close to me ever fixated on ratings,” he says. “If I’m playing a tournament, I’m only playing for the win. Perhaps that’s the reason which forced me to play seven back-to-back Open events where I performed poorly just because I had to win one,” he says.

Gupta draws parallels between his seven back-to-back tournament schedule and a bullet chess game: “It’s very similar for any athlete I feel. You can compare it with playing bullet chess, you keep playing until you win one game. That’s the mentality.”

What has helped Gupta lately is his family. His six-month-old daughter and his wife, who accompanied him to the event, have allowed him to channel his energy more efficiently. He believes they keep him from procrastinating and help him prepare for matches more effectively, as he must now divide his time for his daughter as well.

When asked to reflect on his career and what he might do differently in hindsight, he says, “Hindsight is a wonderful thing. There are many things I wouldn’t have done—like playing all those open events back-to-back, which cost me 70 rating points. But looking back, I wouldn’t say I’m unhappy with how my career has progressed.”

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Behind champion Gupta, five players tied for second place with eight points each. This group included Belarus’ Mihail Nikitenko and Vietnam’s Nguyen Duc Hoa — both recording the most wins in the tournament — along with India’s GM Diptayan Ghosh, Aronyak Ghosh, and Aditya Samant. Nikitenko claimed second place through superior tiebreaks, while second-seeded Diptayan Ghosh secured third position.

Category C witnessed a two-way tie between Tamil Nadu’s Dinesh Kumar H and local lad Naitik Sethi, both finishing with an impressive 9.0/10 score. Dinesh claimed the top prize of Rs 4 lakh thanks to better tiebreaks, while Sethi took home Rs 3 lakh for second place. Another Tamil Nadu player, Sibi M, finished third and won Rs. 2 lakh.